Moulded By Darkness
by wereallmadinbatland
Summary: Nora Reever knows Gotham is a breeding ground for the corrupt, but what she doesn't know is how she fits into the puzzle. Some days she's fighting the good fight, other days she's fighting for a man moulded by darkness. Everyday she fights to stay alive.


Author's Note: This is the new, updated chapter. I'm going to continue this piece but it won't be quite like the last one. As always reviews, favorites, and follows are greatly appreciated.

Nora traced the tip of her index finger around the lid of her coffee cup, her carefully shaped eyebrows drawing together. "When I told Daddy that I was interested in a career in psychology, he suggested that I talk to the head doctor at Arkham." added the woman in a thoughtful tone of voice. She didn't bother mentioning the fact that Lucius had desperately tried to get her to change her mind when she came home one evening and explained that she was going to be meeting with Dr. Jonathan Crane. _Everyone_ at the asylum had been broken, like glass, in some form or another.

"You're saying that Mr. Fox encouraged you to meet with Crane?" questioned Commissioner Jim Gordon. Several creases had spread across his forehead while he attempted to piece the puzzle together. He knew that Lucius wasn't her real father; that much was obvious the moment the two of them were seen together. Lucius had dark skin and dark eyes, but Nora had skin that was comparable to the haunting glow of a full moon and jade eyes with scarce tendrils of emerald racing through them. The older male had adopted her when she was just a baby.

"Yes, I am." _No, I'm not. No one in their sane mind would encourage their teenage daughter to meet with a man in his early thirties that was shady as hell. _Nora thought while resisting the urge to offer the Commissioner a smug smile that would suggest she was lying to his face. Of course, she _was _lying to his face.

"What can you tell me about the man?" Jim asked in a measured tone of voice. He had ordered a plate full of eggs, toast, and bacon when he first arrived at the small café but he hadn't bothered touching it. Instead his attention was focused on the faint circles that had bloomed beneath Nora's eyes, and the way her movements were slow and slightly robotic as if someone were controlling her by tugging on invisible strings. Blinking the male picked up his mug and took a long drink of his lukewarm coffee as if he could simply wash the thoughts down with the black liquid.

"What do you _want _to hear?" her features had hardened considerably - causing her to appear slightly manic and much too menacing for comfort. "The fact that he experimented on the inmates at Arkham, or maybe how _everyone _thought he was using me as his _pawn_?" Nora had been seventeen when the truth about Jonathan's nature went public. After that her life was a downward spiral because everyone was convinced that she had assisted him in making his infamous fear toxin; it didn't help that she had been dragged down to the GCPD and interrogated on the matter for five hours.

"Do you want me to answer the lingering question? _Was Nora Reever sexually involved with Dr. Jonathan Crane?_"this time she allowed a sinister smirk to transform her features into something eerie and dark. The black headed woman slid off the barstool and grabbed her partially full cup of coffee, stepping close to the Commissioner, her lips dangerously close to his ear as she did so. "_Yes. She was." _the statement hung in the air like smoke after a bomb had been detonated.

Nora stepped away when Jim's jaw tightened and made her way towards the door, pushing it open with a graceful motion of her arm. It wasn't long after she had started down the sidewalk that the bell chimed and let her know someone had followed her out of the café.

"What are you running from, Nora? It's been seven years!" Gordon called after her, his voice thick and breaking the eternally present sound of traffic. Although she couldn't see it, a frown had weighed heavily on his lips and it took all of his restraint not to go after her.

"You're right, Sir. It _has _been seven years, but I'm _not _running," Nora replied over her shoulder while she continued walking. As if nothing were out of the ordinary she took a sip of her sweetened coffee and slipped her spare hand into the pocket of her coat. "I'm walking away from a man who's determined to fix a city that reeks of all the blood spilled by the corrupt. You and I both know that you didn't call me down here to play nice or have a heated conversation about the history of my sex life."

Jim knew she was right, and he knew enough about the woman to know that she wasn't the type to beat around the bush. "There have been boys disappearing from the orphanage and turning up dead at the sewer outflows. I'm convinced you know more about what happens in this city than anyone would like to believe; so I'm asking for your _help. _Can you tell me anything about what's been happening to those boys?"

Nora almost dropped her cup of coffee at what Jim said, but she managed to keep her composure. _Don't let your personal feelings get in the way. I don't want to see you make the same mistake as half of the other criminals in this damned city. Know what side you're fighting for and stay on it. _Jonathan's voice rang in her head so clearly it was as if he were standing right next to her and saying the words himself, and not the fragment of a memory. "Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you. There's no sense in selling secrets to someone who helped create the worse secret of all. Harvey would be proud."

When Nora turned the corner, she was not followed.


End file.
